Joan Rivers Memoriam During the 2015 Oscars

The Oscars, “In Memoriam” segment always seems to be controversial, and this year seems to be no exception.

Joan Rivers, who died last September, was not on the list, even though she had more than five decades of comedy, also making numerous films, including 1978’s “Rabbit Test” where she was opposite of Billy Crystal, 1984’s “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” 1987’s “Spaceballs” and 2004’s “Shrek 2.”Rivers was also an icon on the Oscars red carpet, she certainly made the saying, “Who are you wearing?” to the celebrities part of the show.

Even though Rivers was not an Oscar-winning actress or filmmaker, she was unquestionably a very influential woman in Academy Awards history.

The 81-year-old actress, comedian, and TV host died suddenly on September 4th due to complications during surgery.

Joan had begun hosting the E! Network’s pre-Academy Awards red carpet with her daughter Melissa Rivers in 1995, and according to Vanity Fair, the Rivers women “revolutionized the red carpet – from a runway with little celebrity-reporter interaction – into its own brand of entertainment.”

Joan not being honored in the Academy Awards during the tribute section immediately caused a passionate reaction on Twitter.

Even Talk-show host Sally Jessy Raphael had something to say: “No mention of @Joan_Rivers in the Memorial?! That’s not right.”

“#Oscars feels wrong w/out #JoanRivers. Bummed the Academy didn’t include the red carpet queen during the In Memoriam,” wrote Matt Whitfield. Some fans on social media were able to find a little dark comedy in the situation.

“Joan Rivers is gonna surprise us after the commercial break by being alive, I guess,” wrote Shalyah Evans.

Michelle Hinojosa writes and reports media for Popcrunch and is an active member in the LBGT community. She is a graduate of Washington State University with degree's in Social Services, English, History and Psychology.